Kevin Love - Miami Ground Machine

[Superman]

Although Love hasn't said anything yet, he started following a bunch of Cavs players on Twitter and the official Cavs Twitter account.

 

[Pioneer10]

A good thing about Love's game compared to Bosh's is that he lives and feeds off of his teammates. Bosh was more of a face up 1on1 guy in Toronto.

Love was assisted on:
Jumpshots: 73% of the time
Close: 62%
Inside: 57%

Bosh in 09-10 was assisted on:
Jumpshots: 52% of the time
Close: 45%
Inside: 48%

On one hand it shows Love might be more dependent on his teammates to get him his shots, but since Lebron and Kyrie are his teammates now I don't think it'll matter. I doubt Love's numbers will drop as much as Bosh's did

Weird for a guy whose not known for his leaping ability/dunks, Love is like the ultimate finisher. I knew about the 3 point shot and his ability to be a unique stretch 4 (i.e. Robert Horry combined with Rodman like rebounding ability). On the other hand I didn't appreciate his ability to score inside: his FG% is deceiving as he does a very good job drawing fouls. Not a lot of guys who have to worry about equally downlow or outside

He's really about the perfect complement to James: can finish inside or outside, he can stretch the floor to create space, he'll pass the ball if an opportunity isn't there, and get you extra possessions. Compared to guys like Wade, Bosh, and Irving who all had or will have to adjust, Love is a plug and play computer accessory with James. I wouldn't be surprised if his numbers don't change all that much because how well he complements Lebron

 

[Frank Stallone]

Although Love hasn't said anything yet, he started following a bunch of Cavs players on Twitter and the official Cavs Twitter account.

Yeah he now follows everyone with a twitter outside of Delly (well, Harris and Powell as well).

 

[Nightperson]

Can't wait for the press conference, just doesn't feel right till he has his 30 minutes late press conference.

 

[Lee]

A good thing about Love's game compared to Bosh's is that he lives and feeds off of his teammates. Bosh was more of a face up 1on1 guy in Toronto.

Love was assisted on:
Jumpshots: 73% of the time
Close: 62%
Inside: 57%

Bosh in 09-10 was assisted on:
Jumpshots: 52% of the time
Close: 45%
Inside: 48%

On one hand it shows Love might be more dependent on his teammates to get him his shots, but since Lebron and Kyrie are his teammates now I don't think it'll matter. I doubt Love's numbers will drop as much as Bosh's did

I agree. I was talking about his usage going down. If he used to get 18 shots, he will only et 14 shots or so a game in Cleveland. This will result in 4 or 5 less points a game. Also, he will be fighting with high rebounding center and sf, decreasing his rebounding.

All that said, I think Love is perfect for our pf. My guess is he is a 20/10 guy and will have increased shooting numbers, but his per goes down to about 22 or 23 because of decreased usage. Pretty incredible for a 2nd or 3rd option.

 

[theSTEREO.]

DYING laughing at Marion's tiny peanut head.

 

[VAIN1]

I agree. I was talking about his usage going down. If he used to get 18 shots, he will only et 14 shots or so a game in Cleveland. This will result in 4 or 5 less points a game. Also, he will be fighting with high rebounding center and sf, decreasing his rebounding.

All that said, I think Love is perfect for our pf. My guess is he is a 20/10 guy and will have increased shooting numbers, but his per goes down to about 22 or 23 because of decreased usage. Pretty incredible for a 2nd or 3rd option.

But his efficiency should sky rocket in my dream scenario as they will be widely uncontested from KI, LBJ, & Dion collapsing the defense via penetration. Love's percentages going up are a terrifying thought as that dude is highly skilled in spades.

Side note I hope the byproduct is the AV we saw a few years back that 15 & 15 absurd elbow shooting defensive shot clock heart breaker he was.

 

[Mdog1]

But his efficiency should sky rocket in my dream scenario as they will be widely uncontested from KI, LBJ, & Dion collapsing the defense via penetration. Love's percentages going up are a terrifying thought as that dude is highly skilled in spades.

Side note I hope the byproduct is the AV we saw a few years back that 15 & 15 absurd elbow shooting defensive shot clock heart breaker he was.

I would take Andy averaging 10 and 10, and playing 75 games + playoffs. Not that I could complain if Andy went beast mode again, but his health is far more important than an extra 5ppg or 5rpg on this team.

 

[Lee]

But his efficiency should sky rocket in my dream scenario as they will be widely uncontested from KI, LBJ, & Dion collapsing the defense via penetration. Love's percentages going up are a terrifying thought as that dude is highly skilled in spades.

Side note I hope the byproduct is the AV we saw a few years back that 15 & 15 absurd elbow shooting defensive shot clock heart breaker he was.

Problem is per also takes into account usage, and thus his per will go down even if his shooting stats go up like I expect.

 

[VAIN1]

Problem is per also takes into account usage, and thus his per will go down even if his shooting stats go up like I expect.

TY didn't know that although I meant more from his shooting %'s being higher not so much him achieving his previous years monster numbers. Unless we run more plays than we did last year which I'm not sure is possible.

I also think some of those AV injuries he could have come back early from or no? It was like they shut him down to also extend some of the wear and tear during our crafty covert tanking years.

 

[godfather]

Kevin Love is a better basketball player than Chris Bosh. Bosh is good, believe me, never suggested he's not. But Kevin Love's game is more rounded. He's a better post player, stronger, better three point shooter. Offensively he's better than Bosh, he does more things, better passer than Bosh. Defensively Bosh is better, arguably. Bosh is better on pick and rolls, help defense, and has better length. I think Love might be the better isolation defender (he's surprisingly not that bad)

I'd say they are a wash, when you count Love is a much better rebounder by far than Bosh. Rebounding is good defense too. Allowing the team extra possessions is never good, and Love won't allow many for the opposing team. One shot, and that's it will carry you a long way in close games. As long as Love isn't a liability, which he really isn't, he's not going to hurt us on that end.

Regardless, I would never want Bosh over Love. I don't think many teams in the NBA would either. The guy shouldn't be slammed for not getting a shitty T-Wolves into the playoffs in a great western conference. Shit, if Blake Griffin never had Chris Paul, he'd have never been in the playoffs at this juncture too. Anthony Davis is looked at as a young stud, and his team sucks.

Ricky Rubio to me isn't even a starter on a good team in the NBA, and he's arguably been Love's second to third best player he's had. The T-Wolves sucked, and they will be one of the worst teams in the NBA without Love.

 

[theSTEREO.]

Ricky Rubio to me isn't even a starter on a good team in the NBA, and he's arguably been Love's second to third best player he's had. The T-Wolves sucked, and they will be one of the worst teams in the NBA without Love.

If anyone wants a good sense of how bad Kevin Love's supporting cast has been... I'm watching an NBA TV replay of the awesome Wolves-Heat double overtime game from this past April...

The Wolves crunch time Five in overtime is Ronny Turiaf, Chase Budinger, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love.

Yeah, I think Kevin's gonna be pretty happy here.

 

[gratefuldead]

kevin and davey G in CLE

 

[Omar The Horse]

kevin and davey G in CLE

This definitely has been the stalkiest summer of Safaris.

 

[bobcat22]

Kevin Love is a better player at the same age than Chris Bosh and it really isn't close when you look at the numbers from their 6th seasons in the league. Both played 1 year in college then went to the NBA. Bosh played for Toronto who didn't make the playoffs in his last 2 years while Love never made the playoffs. Both were the clear #1 options on their teams. Here are their stats from their 6th season in the league. Bolded parts are who has the better numbers.

Bosh 2008-09:

PPG: 22.3
FG%: 48.7%
3FG%: 24.5% on 0.6 attempts per game.
2FG%: 49.7%
RPG: 10.0
APG: 2.5
SPG: 0.9
BPG: 1.0
TPG: 2.3
USG Rate: 26.9%
MPG: 38.0
PER: 22.1
Off RTG: 114
Def RTG: 108
Offensive win shares: 6.6
Defensive win shares: 3.1
Total win shares: 9.7

Love 2013-14:

PPG: 26.1
FG%: 45.7%
3FG%: 37.6% on 6.6 attempts per game
2FG%: 50.2%
RPG: 12.5
APG: 4.4
SPG: 0.8
BPG: 0.5
TPG: 2.5
USG Rate: 28.8%
MPG: 36.3
PER: 26.9
Off RTG: 120
Def RTG: 104
Offensive win shares: 10.6
Defensive win shares: 3.7
Total win shares: 14.3